Swivelly mounted wheeled figure toy



Aug. 23, 1955 D. STRAUSS 2,715,793

SWIVELLY MOUNTED WHEELED FIGURE TOY Filed April 17, 1955 f2? ventor fia v/c/ 5t/"au 6s United States Patent SWIVELLY MOUNTED WHEELED FIGURE TOY David Strauss, Albany, N. Y.

Application April 17, 1953, Serial No. 349,466

3 Claims; (Cl. 46-107) This invention relates to toys, having particular reference to a device, adapted to mount figure toys, so constructed and arranged that circular or reciprocatory movement imparted thereto will impart animation to said toys, and the provision of such a device is a principal object of the invention.

Generally, it is an object of the invention to provide such a device that is pleasing and amusing in appearance, simple yet sturdy and durable of construction, economic of manufacture, and which will operate with relative freedom from wear and tear and other mechanical difliculties.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide such a device constituting a raised stage-like platform with side wall structure depending therefrom to hold the platform in raised position upon a substantially fiat surface, a swivelly mounted member, preferably a caster, cooperatively associated with said device and adapted slightly to extend beneath the bottom of the side wall structure in order to contact said surface, and means, preferably an angularly disposed extension arm, on the other end of the caster adapted to mount a figure toy, whereby circular motion can be imparted to the toy upon reciprocatory or circular movement of the device.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view, somewhat enlarged, of the device shown in Figs. 1 and 3, taken along the line 22 of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of Figs. 1 and 2 illustrating relative positions taken by the toy, as shown in dotted lines, upon actuation of the device.

The preferred form of the device comprises a housing indicated generally at and preferably this is made of plastic material of some selected attractive color. This open-ended housing may be regarded in the present embodiment as consisting of a raised stage-like platform 11 having a depending side wall, or walls, 12, functioning as a super-structure to hold the stage-like platform in raised position.

Swivelly mounted within the confines of the housing, and concealed therein, is an eccentric member indicated generally at 13 and being preferably in the form of a caster. This consists of a shaft 14 preferably mounted in a bearing 15 in the platform 11. The shaft, where it is so journaled in position, is provided with shoulders 2,715,793 Patented Aug. 23, 1955 16, 16, to maintain the same in proper position. At its bottom end the shaft has an angular extension member 17, which may be bifurcated, to carry a wheel or roller 18 held in position by a pin 19.

It will be observed that the roller 18 extends somewhat below the bottom edge 20 of the housing 10 and that it is adapted to contact a fiat surface 21 as does the housing which is adapted to rest upon such surface. This surface may be a table, floor, or other suitable object.

Preferably, around the bottom peripheral edge of the housing are spaced apart surface contacting members 22 which protect the housing, facilitate easy movement of the device across such surface and hold the same in properly spaced position above said surface, so that the roller 18 will always be in contacting relation therewith.

A figure toy 23, or any other suitable object, may be mounted directly upon the end of the shaft 14. However, in order to accenuate the animation characteristics of the toy, and impart thereto more of a dancing type movement of greater scope, I preferably employ an extension arm 24 and mount the toy on the free end thereof. It should be understood that a plurality of such arms may be so mounted to carry a plurality of toys. Also, it is within the contemplation of the invention to provide a plurality of toys or other objects of different types that are readily adapted to be mounted or demounted upon the device.

In operation, the roller 18 is always in contact with the surface upon which the device rests, as well as being almost entirely concealed from view. The members 22 always hold the housing in properly spaced relation with respect to such surface to provide sufilcient frictional en gagement of the roller, which may be of a resilient material, such as nlbber, with the surface 21. When the device is manually grasped by a childs hand as shown in Fig. 1, and given any kind of movement, whether arcuate, circular or reciprocal, an arcuate or circular movement will be imparted to the figure toy.

It will thus be seen that the objects hereinbefore set forth may readily and efficiently be attained, and since certain changes may be made in the above article and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An article of manufacture, comprising an openended housing to rest on a flat surface; eccentric means, including a single wheel, swivelly mounted within the confines of said housing on one end of said means, said wheel extending beneath the lowermost edge of said housing likewise to contact said surface; and an object mounted on the other end of said means and positioned above said housing, and out of contact therewith, whereby said object will become animated in said position in response to movement of said housing in any direction along said surface.

2. An article of manufacture, comprising a stage-like platform; peripheral means depending from said platform to hold the same in raised position upon a flat surface; eccentric means, including a single wheel, swivelly mounted on one end thereof within the confines of said last named means and extending below the edge thereof in order likewise to be brought into contacting relation eccentric means, positioned above said platform, and having a figure toy mounted thereon, overlying said platform and out of contact therewith, whereby said toy can have movement imparted thereto in said position upon movement of said article in any direction along said surface.

3. A toy device of the character described, comprising in combination, a stage-like platform; side wall structure depending'therefrom to hold said platform in raised position upon a flat surface; a single wheel caster swivelly and vertically mounted in and below-said platform and extending below the bottom edge of said side. wall structure, but within the confines thereof, likewise to contact said surface; and an extension arm, connected to the other end of said caster, projecting at a right angle to the peripheral'edg'e of said platform, and mounting a figure toy in raised position with respect to said platform and completely out of contact therewith, whereby complete and partial rotation can be imparted to said toy upon movement of said device in any direction along said surface.

References Cited the file of this patent 'UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 Helgren -Q. Aug. 12, 

